Chow Lee Is the Rightful Prince of Sexy Drill

If there’s a day that belongs to Chow Lee, it’s probably Valentine’s Day.

“It’s like my second birthday,” Chow says. With the holiday a couple of weeks off, Chow, 26, doesn’t exactly have a romantic dinner with a potential lover set up, but something he says is even better: new music dropping.

We’re at the tail end of our conversation, and while Chow, pressed for time, is light on words, he talks up a new EP, Girls Cum First, set to coincide with a live performance on Valentine’s Day.

Girls Cum First includes the seductive “Yes Mami,” “Krazy 4 U,” and “Lemme Get Ya #”—songs that feel like extensions of Sex Drive, but freshened, oozing sexiness from the top. Chow calls the three-pack a return to making music for the girls following his last single, “Kinda Up off Talent!,” a song focused on his come-up.

“It’s three songs that’s bangers for the ladies,” he says. “It’s pain—pain for sure.”

If you’ve been paying attention to the underground, you already know Chow’s been making “pain”—meaning good—music for the girl since the advent of sexy drill. Combining his charisma, slick wordplay, and unfiltered tales of intimacy with smooth R&B samples layered over drill music, Chow has cemented himself as one of the faces of the genre. If Cash Cobain, the force behind hits like “Fisherrr” and “Grippy,” is the king of sexy drill, Chow is its rightful prince.

Born Justin Jones, Chow Lee first slid onto people’s radar with his 2022 collaboration tape with Cash, 2 Slizzy 2 Sexy. While other NY drill artists spun the usual tales of opps and retribution, Chow and Cash flipped the script, turning drill into their own seductive, bass-thumping playground. Chow garnered more notoriety and critical acclaim with Sex Drive, a celebration of whorishness that takes sexy drill to the next level.

He carried that momentum to the stage at Silo, a Brooklyn nightclub, two weeks after our interview, bringing his braggadocio and melodies to a packed house. The crowd of young singles and couples, many dressed to channel Y2K, a time before most were even born, ate up the vibes the “Slizzy” team’s been curating for the last few years.

“Chow doesn’t take himself too serious,” said Taylor Perez, 22, who was at the show with three friends. “It’s fun music to vibe and have a good time to.”

If there was ever a concert that felt like getting a lap dance while your favorite anthems rang out, it was Chow’s show. Neon lights illuminated stripper poles as dancers worked their magic onstage. It was sexy, it was chaotic, and it was exactly what you’d expect from the author of songs like “Hornitos” and “All Night Long.”

Throughout the show, Chow brought out guests including Cash, the two acting like mischievous cousins as they traded verses with their signature laid-back confidence. Simply put, Chow turned V-Day into a movie. Now, he’s planning a sequel.

This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

“I’m growing. I done been in love and all that type sh*t.”

Chow Lee

Were you always around music?

I mean, my brother used to rap, but I didn't really care about music until I was probably, like, 14.

Who or what pulled you in?

Drake’s first album. I used to hear music, but that's when I actually started listening to what people were saying. I used to just hear shit on the radio, but my brother's like, “Yo, bump this Drake album. This shit hard.” I was like, he talking on this shit.

What was he saying on that album that spoke to you?

I was still young, so it was like certain shit I wasn’t understanding, but it was like he had some great-ass songs on there, like “Fancy.”

Besides Drake, who else were you listening to that inspired you to rap?

Like, Chief Keef, but honestly, I was listening to everybody for real. PartyNextDoor. I was big on OVO. Future. Young Thug.

Describe for us the moment you decided to take rapping seriously.

I was some bullshit. And then I made this song in the 10th grade. And then people in school were, like, fake jacking it. I was like maybe I could do this. And then I started to actually make songs.

What was the song about?

Not cuffing bitches. It was called “No Proposal.”

You made this at 14. What inspired that? Were you going through something traumatic?

I just wanted to try and make a song.

Why take it out on the bitches? What happened?

I was just on some “I’m not cuffing these bitches.” That was what Chief Keef and all them was rapping about.

So how do we go from there to you actually making music for the women now?

I’m growing, you know what I’m saying? I done been in love and all that type shit. I started making music for girls around 2017, at 19.

How did you meet Cash Cobain?

We met on Clubhouse when shit was shut down. We got cooler on Clubhouse, but we already knew each other. He been making music for mad long. They were shooting a video, so me and Lonny went. We hadn’t made sexy drill yet. We was just linking and chilling.

“I need my sh*t played at stuff like Fashion Week, OK?”

Chow Lee

When did you sharpen the sexy drill sound?

I would say in about 2021. Me and Lonny did this song called “Nobody.” And we sent it to [Cash], because it was on his beat. He sent me a bunch of beats, and I just rapped on them, and then he got on the song.

I was just rapping, but I guess I'm just saying it in a nice way. I'm not trying to disrespect women.

I’ve been discussing your music with a lot of women and we all agreed we loved the album Sex Drive because, after listening to it, it's what I call “male whore rap”—but, like, you don't feel gross afterwards. It doesn't feel vulgar. It doesn't feel super misogynistic, like other rap music. Was that a conscious effort?

I guess it's just how I word things. I ain't really doing no purpose. I was just rapping, but I guess I'm just saying it in a nice way. I'm not trying to disrespect women. I don't know. I like saying it in an intelligent way. Say it a nice little way where it's like, I don't sound too crazy, right?

Why do you gravitate towards that style of writing?

Drake. He just says things sometimes. His word play is nice. He says some smooth shit and then some crazy shit at the same time.

You’ve mentioned you want to make your music sexier. How do you see yourself expanding your sound?

I'm really making different shit right now. That song I got on Sex Drive, “LSD,” I'm gonna make more songs like that. It wasn't really about sex. It was more like a girl bop. I’m trying to be in love.

As well as expanding your sound, you seem to be expanding your content, with songs like “Kinda Up Off Talent.” Tell us about how that came together.

I've been making music like that, actually, but people don‘t really know that. So I've been trying to, like, soft-launch that. I want people to be like, “Oh yeah, he can do this, too!”

Is Chow Lee a character? Where are you pulling inspiration from for the lyrics and content?

Nah. That’s me. It’s real life. You know, situations with different women.

So you have this critically acclaimed album and a few performances coming up this year. How are you going to ensure the music translates to the stage?

Well, I usually first go over things with my DJ and make sure the setlist is right. I’m trying to bring a few people out for these upcoming shows. I’m really just trying to make it an experience. We’re going to have pole dancers. We’re trying to turn it into where it’s not just a show.

Do you ever feel pressure to keep fans fed and keep dropping?

I just be having mad music, so it’s just like I might as well go and drop it. It’s not even like I got to drop the album this year, this month, or something like that. I’m in the studio every day. I write most days, and if I can’t get to a studio, I’ll usually still write a freestyle.

Who would you say your primary audience is?

It might be half and half, honestly. A lot of guys play our stuff too because they say the girls they hang around like it. But might be a little bit more women playing us.

Now you know the kinds of people playing your music, but do you have some kind of concept of the kinds of places you want your music to play at?

The spots! I need my shit played at stuff like Fashion Week, OK? And then obviously I want it bumping in people’s cars when they driving and stuff.

What’s got you most excited professionally? What are you looking forward to or want to do this year?

I’m trying to perform in London. I got a song with AJ Tracey, and he was telling me that they rock with us out there. So he was like, I should come out there to try to do something. I'm trying to do that this year.

It seems like everyone has jumped on the sexy drill sound. Are you worried about it becoming oversaturated?

I mean, it’s already oversaturated. But that’s supposed to happen. Because that means we doing something right. We came up with some shit, and if nobody trying to do that shit, then it was wack.

Are you worried about it losing its essence?

Nah, because people will always try to look for whoever started it. And when we do it, it’ll mean more to the people listening.

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